Chip sealing street projects begin Monday in Craig

Beginning next week, the City of Craig’s Road and Bridge Department will be chip sealing streets around town.

Starting Monday, workers will be coating locations with new material — a water-based, palmerized emulsion — to help keep up with street maintenance.

City Manager Jim Ferree said the process will cover about one-fifth of the town’s streets.

“We do chip sealing every year, but each street gets it done about every five years,” he said. “That way, it’s all even.”

City officials ask residents help make the process as smooth as possible.

Besides keeping streets clean, residents are asked not to park any vehicles on a street 24 hours before chip sealing so workers can sweep and wash each street before treatment.

Additionally, automatic sprinklers need to be turned off to keep excess water from running onto the street.

During the chip sealing, one block of each street will be closed off for 30 to 60 minutes.

Residents are asked to keep cars, children and pets off the street while work is underway, as the material could be tracked into homes before completion and the addition of chips.

Three to five days after each chip sealing, workers will sweep the streets for excess chips in the early morning or night, as the process needs to be done in a cool temperature to prevent oil from smearing.

The street schedule, available through the city, may be altered for time and weather.

Randy Call, road and bridge department director, said the timeframe could also change depending on shipments of oil from Grand Junction refineries.

“Sometimes the trucks don’t have enough and we fall behind, and other times they have more than we need and we get ahead,” Call said. “Usually, we stay pretty close to schedule.”

City of Craig Road and Bridge Department chip sealing schedule for next week:

• Monday:

— Haughey Road-Ashley to Old 40

— Fourth Street-Lincoln to Bellaire

— Lincoln Street-Third to Seventh

— Sixth Street-Yampa to Washington

— Washington Street-Seventh to Cul-de-sac

— Ninth Street-Yampa to Rose

— Rose Street-Ninth to 10th

— 10th Street-Rose to Washington

— Colorado Street-10th to 12th

• Tuesday:

— 12th Street-Barclay to Yampa

— School Street-Hillside Terrace to 12th

— Hillside Terrace-School to Breeze

— Breeze Street-Hillside Terrace to 12th

— School Street-Eighth to Sandrock

— Sandrock Drive-Pershing to School

— Ranney Street-Eighth to Sandrock Drive

— Barclay Street-Sandrock to Highway 40

• Wednesday:

— Ninth Street-Finley Lane to Green

— Finley Lane-Ninth to Alta Vista

— Ledford Street Schrader to Ninth

— Schrader Avenue-Finley to Ledford

— Ninth Street-County Road 7 to end

— Hospital Loop

• July 15:

— Crescent Drive-First/Second entrances

— Essex Court-Riford to end

— Riford Court-Riford Road to end

— Park Court-Riford Court to end

— Lenox Road-Park Court to end

— Exmoor Circle-Riford to Exmoor

— Exmoor Road-Ninth to Westridge

— Exmoor Place

— Westridge Court-Westridge to end

— Crescent Drive-Third entrance

— Wickes Avenue-Crescent to end

• July 19:

— Cedar Court-First Street to end

— Third Street-Mack Lane to Highway 13

— Commerce Street-Third to Cul-de-sac

— Clay Avenue-Third to First

— Doyan-Third to end

— Riverview-Third to Highway 40

For more information about the chip sealing schedule and/or process, call 824-4463.

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Comments

Ahh chip sealing. What a nice flashback. I remember flying down the hill on East 10th Street on my bike and hitting a large pile of loose gravel "leftovers." The forced dismount from my bike was nothing short of spectacular and the road surface was oh so enjoyable as it ground off my flesh.

If this is a 5 year rotation, of sorts. How and Why is the Hospital Loop needing overlayed already? I know the road was there before the hospital opened, but it has not been 5 years since new paving. Did we get a shoddy job from the original contractor, or what?

bigrred1576 & als362,
Hospital Loop Road was paved before construction began if I recall, so it would've been dug up before connecting with something on the other side of the street. I use the south entrance on the loop and there is asphalt patching across the span of the street where the drainage work crosses. Als326, I agree...chip sealing and protecting it now would be the wise way to go.
Something I don't get though...Steele street from Victory Way to Industrial Avenue(in the middle of town) has not been paved since the inception of Craig...yet we chip seal the same streets over and over every year, why?
I realize streets and gutter-work can be pricey, but how much do we pay for them to squirt oil on the street, throw down some gravel, sweep it up and get rid of it? Every year?
My guess would be a couple years worth of chip sealing. Same goes for the mag chloride sprayed on the county roads, stop that nonsense and throw in a couple years worth of chip seal cost and there you go, a proper street for the residents that deserve one.
Anyway, please be aware that one entrance will be closed each day of chip sealing, your route to the hospital may be slightly altered from what you had planned. If one entrance is closed, simply use the other, you will still get there.
And as always, open 24/7/365, chip sealing or not.